All eyes on Noor Mukadam murder case today as Islamabad court to announce verdict

Family members of Noor Mukadam sit in front of a poster with her photo during a vigil in Islamabad, Pakistan on September 22, 2021. (AN photo)

• Mukadam was found beheaded at the home of Zahir Jaffer in Islamabad last July in a case that has gripped the nation
• The months-long trial was one of the most closely watched in recent Pakistani history, Jaffer has pleaded not guilty 

ISLAMABAD: A sessions court in Islamabad will announce the verdict today, Thursday, in the Noor Mukadam murder case after all sides concluded arguments earlier in this week, bringing to a close a saga that has gripped the nation and whose trial has been one of the most-closely watched in recent Pakistani history.
Mukadam, the daughter of a former Pakistani diplomat, was found beheaded in Islamabad’s upscale F-7/4 neighborhood in July last year. The murder sparked public outrage and grabbed media attention unlike any other recent crime against women. The key suspect in the murder, Zahir Jaffer, was arrested from the crime scene, his residence, on the day of the murder. He was indicted last October.
Others charged in the case include Jaffer’s parents, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee, their three household staff, Iftikhar, Jan Muhammad and Jameel, and six employees of Therapy Works, a counseling center from where Jaffer had received certification to become a therapist and where he had been receiving treatment in the weeks leading up to the murder. Police say a team from the counseling center was already at the crime scene when they arrived on July 20, having been summoned by Jaffer’s parents. The charges against Jaffer’s parents and the counselling team range from evidence tampering to abetment.
The trial for the case, which began in October, was conducted at Islamabad’s district court, and heard by additional sessions judge Atta Rabbani.
Talking to the media after the last hearing in the trial on Tuesday, Shaukat Mukadam, the father of the victim, said he had sought “maximum punishment” for the accused. He reposed his confidence in Judge Rabbani, saying he had “conducted a fair and transparent trial.” He added that he was “completely satisfied” with the investigation despite “some ups and downs.”
He also commended the police for operating “under pressure.”
“It was a difficult time but I have full faith in my daughter,” Shaukat said. “Noor Mukadam was a good girl and she was not involved in anything wrong.”
At an earlier hearing, Jaffer, who initially confessed to the crime before police and the court, pleaded not guilty to the killing, saying he was innocent and wrongly implicated in the case. His lawyers said Mukadam had arranged a “drug party” at Jaffer’s residence on July 20 as his parents were away in Karachi, saying Jaffer fell unconscious from “overuse” of drugs and Mukadam was killed by someone else who had attended the party. At another hearing, the defense also asked the court to consider the possibility that Mukadam had been “honor killed” by her brother.
The Mukadam family’s counsel, advocate Shah Khawar, has argued that all evidence, including DNA samples, call data records (CDR), digital video record (DVR) and forensics, collected using scientific methods, pointed toward Jaffer’s guilt.
“The court should grant maximum punishment to all the accused,” he prayed before the court.